agenda Th/F May 3/4: read & write

learning goal: Stephen, Matsu, Sachi–on which one of these characters do you find yourself focusing most?  Why do you think this person draws you in more than the other two?

introduction to the day (5′)

reading time (45′)

writing time (20′): an email to bill.brown@hies.org (subject: focal character); in body of email write 5-10-sentence response to question in today’s learning goal; send email by the end of class; begin your email by identifying how far you have read–i.e., what page number

 

due M/T Mar 26/7: email reply due M/T Mar 26/7

check your bearsmail–after the Th/F class during which you sent me an email about the material we read in class that day (DC Marchers, your instructions read differently)

the reply from me describes a reading-responding assignment due next class (M/T Mar 26/7)

happy reading and writing

agenda W/Th Feb 6/7: respond and read

learning goal: what connection between two of your our booklet’s quadrants carries the most meaning for you?  why this one?

respond to Mr. Brown’s email

after sending email response, hand in reading-notes booklet

spend the rest of class time reading towards this week’s goal (310)

agenda Fri Jan 26 (B&D blocks), Mon Jan 29 (H block): booklets, notes, etc.

learning goal: what are one or two other ways I can use the booklet note-quadrants, besides the way(s) I have been using them so far?

In a small group of no more than four people, describe and explain notes you have entered in the first quadrant of the Kite Runner booklet.  Listen to each other well enough to appreciate the variety of approaches people are taking to this process–this process of recording ideas or details that each of you wants to remember as the reading proceeds.

Once your group has done this, separate the desks and individually email Mr. Brown (bill.brown@hies.org).  In the body of your email, explain how the group conversation has (1) expanded your vision of what’s possible with these note-quadrants and (2) deepened your understanding of some aspect of the novel.  For example, maybe you now see a way to sharpen or adjust your note-taking in this booklet, and you now see something about a character or theme that had not occurred to you before this group conversation.

Compose your email response as a single, focused paragraph–with the subject line of “KR conversation.”

With any remaining time, continue reading in the novel.  Remember that the first week of reading ends on Sunday.  In other words, on our reading schedule, the phrase “the week of” means the calendar week of Monday through Sunday. If you have already reached this week’s goal (page 100), get a start on next week’s, since it covers more pages.

agenda T/W Jan 16/17: Whale Rider

learning goal: what do you learn from Pai and the struggles she faces?

WR exercise

several people who need to see rest of film:

Pt. 1:  Sam (D); Jack, Sarah (H)

Pt. 2: Jean (B); Miller, Emma (D); Ruthie (H)

 

HW: bring The Kite Runner to next class

agenda W/Th Jan 3/4: leaning into learning

learning goal: what is one small or large lesson you take from reading at least 2 of the model Camus paragraphs?

email assignment TBA in class

due F/M Dec 1/4: ANTIGONE email

By the start of your Fri/Mon class, please have replied to the email instructions you received shortly after the discussion with Dr. Pendrick earlier this week.

Thank you.

agenda M/T Nov 27/8: current thoughts about ANTIGONE

learning goal: which one of these questions draws me in more than the others?  why?

20-20-20

20 reading/reviewing last 500 lines

20 small-group discussion of the Kendrick questions

20 to compose email described below

In an email to bill.brown@hies org (subject line: “current thoughts about ANTIGONE”),

explain your current thinking about one or more of the questions below,

remembering that the email will be assessed for its clarity, specificity and development.

In other words, how clearly does it express its ideas and how well does it develop those ideas with specific references to lines of the text (with line numbers cited)

QUESTIONS (from Mr. Jerry Pendrick)

Most modern readers sympathize strongly with Antigone. In democratic Athens, how would the audience feel about Antigone — who is essentially a princess and daughter of the (former) king, a sort of Ivanka Trump figure, a member of the “1%” of Athenian society — asserting her right to disobey laws she happens to disagree with?

What exactly are Antigone’s motives for disobeying Creon’s edict? Are they religious, as her famous speech at lines 487-508 suggest? Or are they purely personal, as her speech at 987ff. suggests? Is she a consistent character who operates from consistent principles/motives?

The plot of the play proves that Creon was ultimately in the wrong. Does it also prove that Antigone was ultimately in the right? Why or why not? A related question is: what actually does it mean to be an Athenian tragedy?

agenda T/W Aug 29/30: Nadine Gordimer

learning goal:  after a first reading, what does Nadine Gordimer’s short story, “The Ultimate Safari,” mean to you?  Why?  How?

 

time to read, individually

time to reflect

time to write

 

agenda Th/F Apr 27/8: read and respond

learning goal: which of the three main characters demands my strongest attention so far?  why this person–what is it about him or her that resounds in me to this extent?

 

intro 5′

read 50′

email 15′

read for 50 minutes; afterwards, open your laptop and reply directly to my email–by answering my question(s)